“Why, she lives in the little land office down on Bryant’s lot. Mrs. Bryant can’t get done talking about her, how much go she has, and what she can do. She’s bought that building and had it moved there. Has a lot of initiative and all that, and is right there in an emergency. It seems she saved their house from getting on fire just by keeping her head. I say that’s the kind of girl we want in our school.”
While he was speaking the new superintendent entered.
He had just been called to fill the vacancy caused by the old superintendent’s being called to a city school. He was young and good-looking and they all stood somewhat in awe of him. He had a grave manner and seemed to know just what he wanted. They all rose to greet him.
“Professor Harrington, we’ve just been trying to get this primary teacher decided upon,” said one man. “Powers here is holding us up by presenting a new name. Don’t you think we’d better just stick to the three we’ve decided upon and tried, and pick one of them? At least we know what they are.”
The young superintendent turned toward Powers.
“Who is the person in question?” he asked, looking straight at Powers and trying to find out whether he thought a recommendation from him would be worth the paper it was written upon.
“Why, her name is Radway, Miss Joyce Radway,” said Powers. “I’d like to have you see her, professor. She certainly is intellectual-looking and all that. I had the pleasure of watching her teach this morning over in the Roberts Avenue Church. They have some kind of a religious summer school there to occupy the children during vacation, and the pastor tells me she is the best teacher they have.”
“I shouldn’t think a minister would be a very good judge of what was needed in the public schools,” piped up the advocate of one of the other applicants.
“Well, this one is. He’s making that school a success, I can tell you—has something over five hundred kiddies there regularly every day, and crazy about the school. He won’t have anybody there that isn’t a cracker-jack teacher—”
But the attitude of the superintendent suddenly drew the attention of the speaker. Professor Harrington was sitting alert, all attention, interest in his eyes.